Innumerable things can and do go wrong at airports when all the equipment is in working order, so you can only imagine what a mess can occur when such a bustling commerce center suffers a power outage. Headaches abounded at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, Calif. Sunday when a backup generator went kaput.

The generator had been shouldering the airport’s power needs since an outage knocked the towers off the grid Friday. Not only were there several delays in departing flights, but air traffic controllers were forced to resort to portable radios to talk to pilots. According to the AP, commercial power came back online a little more than an hour after the towers lost power from the backup generator.

Given the uncertainty of the mishap, it seems remarkable that the 10 or so flights that suffered delays were only pushed back a little more than half an hour. Since major delays at any airport can cause ripple effects at just about all the others, travelers around the country are lucky the powers that be at John Wayne were able to keep the hamster wheels turning in the absence of electricity.

Power outage causes delays at California airport [AP via Mercury News]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.